Plato's Republic

These questions, like all the study questions we offer, are meant to point up some patterns that are central to the text. They are by no means exhaustive, and they are not meant to be prescriptive. Although we won't be able to touch upon all of them in our discussions, they may serve to get you started on critical readings of our texts. Our discussions will be guided by the interests of the group rather than structured strictly in response to these questions.

Study Guide for Plato's Republic
1. The Republic of the title refers to the ideal city that Socrates describes in the course of the book. Before you start reading about Plato's ideal city, give some serious thought to designing your own. What would your ideal city look like? How would it be governed? Who would be in power, and how would they get power? How would decisions be made? How would problems be resolved? Perhaps most importantly: What would be your goals in designing such a community? Remember this imaginary place when you start reading about Socrates' ideal state, and compare your ideas to his.

2. In Book One, what are the arguments of Cephalus, Polemarchus, and Thrasymachus concerning justice? How does Socrates respond to each? In particular, could you make a better argument for Thrasymachus' position than Plato puts in the mouth of this character? How do you define justice?

3. What is it like to argue with Socrates?

4. Describe the city that Socrates and his listeners build in their minds. Would you want to live in this state? If not, who would like to live in it and why? What is the purpose of the state in Plato's text? Whom is it supposed to benefit, and in what way? Does it achieve this goal? What is Plato's ideal of leadership? How do people get into positions of leadership in his republic? Who puts them there? What are gender roles like in Socrates' republic?

5. What role does censorship play in Plato's ideal state? Why is it necessary? Who does the censoring? What is Plato's attitude toward poetry? ("Poetry" = any fictional literature; the word is derived from the Greek verb "to make.") What is dangerous about the Iliad? (He gives reasons for censorship both before and after the Myth of the Cave; be sure to note all of his objections.) Is The Republic dangerous too?

6. Plato sets out a specific educational curriculum in The Republic. What is it like? Why does he choose these subjects to teach out of all possibilities (for instance, why geometry and not history)? Go back to your plan for an ideal city. What kind of educational system would best fit your plan? Compare Plato's curriculum with your own or Stanford's. What purpose(s) do you think these curricula are intended to bring about?

7. Trace the stages of the prisoner's experience in the Myth of the Cave. How does the prisoner's conversion happen? What happens to the prisoner after enlightenment? How does the Myth of the Cave relate to the Divided Line? How does the theory of forms described here relate to other systems you may have encountered? What kinds of knowledge does he exclude from this model of enlightenment?

8. The entire Republic is constructed around the analogy between the individual and the city-state (polis) introduced by Socrates early in the dialogue. What is Socrates' purpose in introducing this analogy? On the basis of the soul/city analogy, what does he define as justice? After you've finished the book, reflect on these questions: do you think it's about an ideal city-state? an ideal person? Are either possible in the world of everyday, particular experience?

9. The Republic ends with the Myth of Er. How does the conception of the afterlife here work? If Er had told his story to Aeneas, would Aeneas have behaved differently in The Aeneid? How does the portrayal of Odysseus differ from that presented by Homer in The Odyssey? How does a "virtuous" or "just" person confront death, according to The Republic?

10. Plato is famous for having written philosophical texts in dialogue form. Assuming that the content of his work is somehow consistent with its form, what connections can you draw between dialogue and Platonic philosophy? Note the difference in form between the first book and the rest of The Republic. Why do you think the approach changes?

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